Sunday, October 30, 2016

An Extraordinary Year in Mexico

Every day it seems there is more information about additional foreign investment in Mexico.  Much of it is from Europe!  The Italians and Germans are moving in en masse with factories, businesses and money. Many others as well.  The Asian population is concentrating in Leon which is the shoe manufacturing and leather processing capital of Mexico.  Leon is a little over an hour from San Miguel and has an international airport.

Many people who have in the past gone to the USA to make a living are returning with their families to
have "the good life" back home.  It is very uplifting to see.

San Miguel, Queretaro, Silao, Salamanca and many other cities have benefited from this in the past and will in the future.
The old ways are meshing with the new.  Real estate sales in San Miguel are very busy with not only
people from the USA moving here, but also Europeans and Mexican nationals.

Yesterday I wrote about some of the changes to traditional celebrations.  As one can see from the list that I'm going to provide below, change is inevitable.  It, of course, under some circumstances, is a good thing.

Citibank is investing $1 Billion dollars in Mexico.  That is in addition to the $1.5 billion already invested in 2014!  After this investment through Banamex it will be the second largest bank in Mexico with the name
of Citibanamex.  Say that three times fast.

DHL Express which is part of a German company is investing $100 million dollars in Mexico and when finished with their expansion will have 500 customer centers throughout the country.  DHL has been in Mexico for a long, long time.  It was who I used for sending envelopes back and forth to and from the USA in the early days - the 80's.  It was the only way to guarantee, back then, that the envelope would get there.

New car sales are up 18% in nine months!  Nowadays instead of the Nissan taxis and VWs, one sees every kind of car from Honda to Audi to Toyota being inclusive of all the others.  The percentages of ownership of new cars in this nine months was Nissan 25%, GM 18.8'5 and VW 16.2 percent.  Interestingly, to me at least, is the fact that some of these car models are not exported to the USA but are used within country.

Previously I've mentioned that new clean factories are opening on the periphery of San Miguel out in the countryside.  Several are manufacturers of car and airplane parts.  Queretaro which is forty five minutes away from San Miguel has a contract to build aircraft there so these ancillary small factories are supplying some of the parts needed for the aircraft.  Same with the car parts as there are many, many car manufacturing plants in Silao, Salamanca and other cities about an hour to an hour and a half from San Miguel.

It's the tip of the iceberg.  Mexico is on a roll.  Happily it has been an extraordinary year for Mexico and it is not over yet.  Viva Mexico!



11 comments:

Michael Dickson said...

Mexico is on a roll indeed. It puts a smile on my face.

Peter Kouwenhoven said...

Let's hope the roll continues for Mexico. Alot of this success is as a result of the NAFTA, but if that fails the EU and China will trade...

Babs said...

Peter, I totally agree that NAFTA, after 25 years, has been a huge boon for Mexico and Canada! And the USA too. Mexico did not have a middle class prior to that and now does in spades........it is a beautiful sight to see.

Retired Teacher said...

Can you imagine what Mexico could accomplish if it could somehow eliminate its pervasive culture of political corruption?

Babs said...

Believe it or not Bill, I don't think the government in Mexico is any more corrupt then it is in the USA. I could tell you story after story of people wanting payoffs in the USA both when I had my own companies and when I worked in defense contracting.

It is just more sophisticated in the USA, sadly.

Unknown said...

I am an Artist from Canada who is thrilled with the prospect spending time this winter in SMA painting the light,colour and life I had previously witnessed during my last visit. It's great how Mexico is growing. However i still read about the growing activities of the cartels. Is security still a concern in SMA?

Babs said...

Hi Kurt. For me, a single woman, the "security" concerns of a very few are blown out of proportion. I never feel unsafe and I'm a pretty savvy woman who travels a lot.

There have been cartels in Mexico since the 60's that I know of - but it never got into the press until the last 10 years. If you're into drugs then you have to be concerned in areas such as the mountains of Guerrero, the mountains of Michoacan,
near Lazaro Cardenas, Sinaloa and Chihuahua. Far, far away from here and not on the beaten path. Otherwise, there is no concern. There were 26 million visitors to Mexico last year!

Enjoy the light in Mexico and San Miguel - watch out walking on the cobblestones.
They are more dangerous then the "cartels".

Unknown said...

My wife has a pair of San Miguel Shoes. I never really had a problem. We even joined in a wedding march. Can you recommend any sources for a one bedroom apt.

Babs said...

Good morning Kurt - If you will send me an email at babsofsanmiguel@yahoo.com with a list of your wants and needs, I do know of several places and I'll be better able to suggest one of them as each is totally different from the others. Plus your price range.....Thanks.

Unknown said...

Is SMA safe considering the political climate?

Babs said...

Yes, it is very safe,,,,,,,,,,,if you have been here before you should realize that we are living in a wonderful safe village.